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2001 Prius electrical problems

Hello Prius owners,
I bought my first Prius used and am going to need help diagnosing some electrical problems. The vehicle was running fine then one day the previous owner went to start it and there was nothing. No power at all, as if there was no battery at all in it. He did not want to get involved in diagnosing the problems so he sold me the vehicle at a reasonably lower market value. He said he priced the starter battery at $180. Is this correct? He was afraid he said to buy the battery and find it didnt need it. Aside from taking it to the dealer, is there some alternate ways of diagnosing some of this?
Joe

You can try a jump start

Go to the owners manual and follow the steps for jump starting the small 12V battery. (Do not go near the big battery!) When the small battery dies, the relays for activating the main battery will not work and the Prius will not even make clicking sounds. If the jump start is succesful, you have found the problem is the 12V battery.

Service 40g

Hello: I have a 2002 Toyota

Hello: I have a 2002 Toyota Prius and yesterday I went to start it and there was nothing. The 12V batterry is new and the main battery is very low charge. Is necesary to charge the main battery to start ? is this is the problem how can i charge the mai battery?

The main (200v propulsion

The main (200v propulsion battery IS needed to start the Prius engine (internal combustion engine). There is NO separate starter motor. The electric drive motor starts the gas engine thru the planetary gear system that combines the two engines.

NOW... the Prius' computer is NOT supposed to let the main battery get drained to zero under any circumstances. There should always be enough charge left to fire up the gas engine.

If the main battery is dead, that can happen accidentally if the car is left for weeks at a time without being run. There are some very small electrical loads present in the car's computer and doorlock/key system even when the car is shut off.

The owner's manual shows how to shut down these small electrical loads if you are leaving your Prius shut off for over 10 days, or so. Just one switch under the steering column to push.

More likely than not, a dead propulsion battery is a sign of malfunction in the battery, or the car.

All rechargeable batteries, including Prius can be prone to "internal self discharge" when they become old or damaged. Or there may be "issues" with the computers or electical systems that maintain the battery's charge.

2DpGM

I had a routine oil change

I had a routine oil change and tire rotation for my '06 Prius at a dealership. When I started the car, all the "Check engine, batteries, etc." lights came on. The service person got into the car and drove it a few feet. The electrical part shut down. I could smell a brake-fluid-like odor. They have no idea what is wrong. A longtime Toyota mechanic suggested that they may have placed the lift plate on the wiring system that runs all along the bottom of the car.

OUr 2004 Prius has been

OUr 2004 Prius has been doing some very weird things - this after 6 years of no problems at all. The check engne light and red exclamation mark go on for no reason, then go off when the car is turned off and then turned back on. A yellow light on the dash comes on when the car is not on. The "key" mechanism stopped working - we had the key battery replaced, and still sometimes the car door will not open and we have to take out the actual key and use it to open the door. My husband can now remove the key and the car still runs.
Our Prius has been in the shop for two days now, and has the guys at Toyota mystified. Also - gas gauge isn't working correctly any more. Toyota here says they're checking with guys in CA. CAn anyone out there help diagnose what's wrong - the car is beginning to scare us!

That happened to me already.

That happened to me already. I am talking about the lights and the warnings. I just let it pass, drive the car for a few days and everything comes back to normal. If I use the A/C in the car, I do it when the car is moving, it seems that the main battery is discharged enough not to function well and then is when I see those lights and warnings. I have done this trhee times in the five years that I have owned the car. I bough it wit 58000 mliles and has 148000.